September 23, 2015
Almaty, Kazakhstan – Microfinance Organization Asian Credit Fund LLC (ACF, the Company) has successfully closed a second round of equity financing with two investors.
ACF is a microfinance institution founded by Mercy Corps and serves the underserved rural population of Kazakhstan with microfinance services.
New equity investment was raised from existing shareholder BOPA (Base of the Pyramid Asia), and new investor Karavella Invest LLC. With this investment, BOPA and Karavella Invest will hold 47% and 2%, respectively in ACF, while Mercy Corps will retain the majority stake.
Karavella Invest was created by ACF employees to purchase an ownership stake in the Company. Employee ownership remains relatively new in Kazakhstan, but the employees were driven by the idea bringing their private funds into an ownership stake in ACF. “We believe in the successful future of ACF and we want to be a driving force for other potential investors to consider ACF as an outstanding investment,” said Zarina Dzhekebekova on behalf of the investing employees.
Speaking about the latest investment, BOPA’s CEO Christian Andersen said “We have been very impressed with the performance of the ACF organization, even taking the recent devaluation into consideration, and therefore happy to invest additional equity to support the further growth of the institution. ACF continues to stand out as an innovative organization that helps rural female entrepreneurs in Kazakhstan with access to appropriate financial services. It is also very encouraging for us that key staff from ACF – through Karavella Invest – are now becoming shareholders.”
“ACF is a sound well-run company. We are happy that BOPA has proven its commitment to long-term partnership with ACF, supporting the Company’s growth. Also, we are excited to have employees as shareholders. We are sure that the employees’ passion will create additional value for ACF customers, partners and the communities ACF serves” said Steve Mitchell, Mercy Corps VP Financial Services.
ACF’s mission is to be the leading development organization in Kazakh microfinance sector that provides financial and development products and services to households to improve the quality of their lives.